Miscellaneous Woodlanders

I did not know that Ypsilandra would come from leaf cuttings.... will be trying it soon, though.... thanks Tim!

It does! - and so does the related Heloniopsis. The easiest way is to just push the end of a growing leaf in the compost. The picture shows a couple of damaged leaves that were removed and put in compost

Wim, you have some choice stuff there...months ahead of me...my hosta are not even showing themselves. I have never seen that blue cory for sale in canada. I expect the tuberous types would do better here. C. solida is now seeding into my lawn! That one is almost TOO prolific!

I must try the leaf cutting technique with the Heloniopsis....it would be nice to get more of that one.

Lots of good thought-provoking posts here, I'm just catching up. I too had no idea about the possibility of leaf cuttings with Ypsilandra & Heloniopsis, go figure.

Wim, no one has yet commented on your Ramberlea. I assumed this to be an intergeneric hybrid between Ramonda and Haberlea, and googling it, it is certainly the case. What comes up in Google is one called x Ramberlea 'Inchgarth' (Ramonda myconi var. alba x Haberlea rhodoptera 'Virginalis'). All that I see photos of have blue lavender flowers, on your x Ramberlea plant the flowers look near white. Are there additional color forms resulting from that intergeneric cross? I really like your R. myconi var alba, looking happy indeed.

Last year I was sent some rhizomes of Polygonatum roseum, and as I watched for signs of life this spring, I had all but given up hope, but should have known better... some Polygonatum species are late to emerge. Sure enough it popped up, and at about 4" (10 cm) tall so far, it has a few cute little pink flowers. Researching the species, it does grow up to 1-2' tall, although most sites report about 18" (45 cm).

Wim, you asked in the Epimedium 2011 topic (http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=630.msg9009#msg9009), what it was that's growing under Arisaema sikokianum. Here is a closer view, the undergrowth is Oxalis acetosella, which makes a luxuriant soft groundcover. Some people may shudder at the thought, this plant can certainly spread far and wide, but as it's roots are so close to the surface it doesn't really compete that much except with very small plants, so it's a good companion for Arisaema and larger woodland plants.

Just behind the Arisaema is my clump of Cypripedium reginae, or Showy Ladyslipper Orchid, which increased from 8 growth points to 12 this year. I love this species, not only for the beautiful long-lasting flowers, but because it flowers much later than many cyps.

I have also grown Polygonatum roseum but it is an excellent slug bait and doesn't last long. My attempt to grow ladyslippers has almost failed too. Only one left and slugs are attacking it now and then :'(

@ Mark, concerning the Ramberlea: it was this one I got: http://www.kevockgarden.co.uk/plantlist/ramberlea.htm, so it might just be a white Ramonda (it has a soft pink tinge). I had never seen any other cross between Ramonda and Haberlea except for the cultivar named 'Inchgarth' after the garden of the breeders who made this cultivar: Brian and Maureen Wilson. So that was why I bought this particular cross, to see if there are other colors possible from a cross like that. There's also a cross between Jancaea and Ramonda which is very beautiful, called Jancaemonda, you can see one here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=509.msg12815#msg12815

I'm one of those people who shudders at the thought of having O. acetosella as a groundcover ;) ;)... I think it's working towards world-domination ;) ;)

Wow, absolutely beautiful scenes, Mark! The photo of A. sikokianum is especially ethereal! Can't wait to see the cyp in bloom, too.

Great Arisaema photo, Trond. Eliot and Barbara Coleman used ducks to control slugs and snails... I doubt you'd want to travel to your cabin with a cage of ducks in tow but it would be an interesting thought. ;) (They are American organic gardeners who have published some very sensible books and had an organic gardening show on PBS TV. Anyway, they had an enclosure for their pair of ducks that consisted of a shelter at one end and a hardware cloth "run", and the assembly could be lifted and moved on a daily basis to give them new grazing grounds. They called it "Duckingham Palace"... )

We are supposed to get a week of rain, starting today... wish I could send you 3-4 days worth!

It will take many more years for these to fill in and put on a good show, but here's a start ...Isopyrum biternatum* with white flowers, and Anemonella thalictroides 'Rosea' (both planted a few years ago), and Sanguinaria canadensis 'Plena', planted a couple of years ago.